All Over the Place: A Life

All Over the Place: A Life is the autobiography of Ron Southerton – a life both ordinary and remarkable. Ron joined the army in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, and served in Tripoli, Libya and Aden. Leaving the army as a Major, he became editor of an academic journal, before being head-hunted by a Swedish company responsible for industrial gas turbines, which eventually led him to a spell in Baghdad, Iraq. Ron then returned to the UK, finding success as a freelance translator in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

Ron’s story is a mixture of laughter and sorrow, quiet days and more adventurous moments – including the day he confronted Robert Maxwell in his Oxford office for overdue translation fees, the day he rode on the footplate of the Mallard at 99mph from Doncaster to King’s Cross, and the day he found himself on the east side of the Berlin Wall during the Cold War.

Ron Southerton is a retired Chartered Engineer, living in Scarborough. His recent translations include works by the Swedish humorist Albert Engström.